Amos 7

1 Yahweh our God showed me [in a vision] that he was going to send locusts [to destroy our crops]. It was going to happen right after the king’s share of the hay had been harvested/cut and before the rest of the hay was ready to be harvested.

Thus has the Lord God showed me; and, behold, a swarm of locusts coming from the east; and, behold, one caterpillar, king Gog.

2 [And in the vision I saw] those locusts come, and they ate everything that was green. Then I cried out, “Yahweh our Lord, please forgive us! We Israeli people are very helpless; (how will we be able to survive [RHQ]?/we will not be able to survive!)”

And it came to pass when he had finished devouring the grass of the land, that I said, Lord God, be merciful; who shall raise up Jacob? for he is small in number.

3 So Yahweh changed his mind and said, “That will not happen.”

Repent, O Lord, for this. And this shall not be, says the Lord.

4 Then this is what Yahweh our Lord showed me [in another vision]: He was calling to a fire to [come and] punish [his people]. [In the vision I saw that] the fire dried up the ocean and also burned [everything on] the land.

Thus has the Lord showed me; and, behold, the Lord called for judgment by fire, and it devoured the great deep, and devoured the Lord's portion.

5 Then I cried out again, “Yahweh our Lord, I plead with you, please stop this! We Israeli people are very helpless; how will we be able to survive [RHQ]?”

Then I said, O Lord, cease, I pray you: who shall raise up Jacob? for he is small in number. Repent, O Lord, for this.

6 So Yahweh changed his mind again, and said, “That also will not happen.”

This also shall not be, says the Lord.

7 Then Yahweh showed me [another vision]. I saw him standing beside a wall. [It was very straight because] it had been built using a (plumb line/cord with a weight on one end to determine if walls are vertically straight). Yahweh had the plumb line in his hand.

Thus the Lord showed me; and behold, he stood upon a wall of adamant, and in his hand [was] an adamant.

8 Yahweh asked me, “Amos, what do you see?” I replied, “A plumb line.” Then Yahweh said, “Look, I am going to use a plumb line among my Israeli people, [to show that they are like a wall that is not straight]. I will not change my mind again about punishing them.

And the Lord said to me, What see you, Amos? And I said, An adamant. And the Lord said to me, Behold, I appoint an adamant in the midst of my people Israel: I will not pass by them any more.

9 The places on hills where [the descendants of] [MTY] Isaac worship [idols] will be destroyed. And the other important shrines in Israel will also be destroyed. And I will enable [your enemies] to attack your people with swords and they will get rid of [King] Jeroboam and all his descendants.”

And the joyful altars shall be abolished, and the sacrifices of Israel shall be set aside; and I will rise up against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.

10 Then Amaziah, the priest at Bethel, sent [a message] to Jeroboam, the King of Israel. In the message he said, “Amos is plotting against you among the Israeli people [MTY]. [I am worried that] the people of this country will not be able to refute his words.

Then Amasias the priest of Bethel sent to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, Amos is forming conspiracies against you in the midst of the house of Israel: the land will be utterly unable to bear all his words.

11 This is what he is saying: ‘Jeroboam will soon be killed by [someone using] a sword, and the people of Israel will be (exiled/forced to leave their land and go to another country).’”

For thus says Amos, Jeroboam shall die by the sword, and Israel shall be led away captive from his land.

12 Then Amaziah [came to me and] said, “You prophet, get out of here! Go back to the country of Judah! Earn money to [buy food to be able] to live there, and do your prophesying there!

And Amasias said to Amos, Go, seer, remove you into the land of Juda, and live there, and you shall prophesy there:

13 Do not prophesy any more here at Bethel, because this is where the national temple, the king’s temple, is!”

but you shall no longer prophesy at Bethel: for it is the king's sanctuary, and it is the royal house.

14 I replied to Amaziah, “I was [previously] not a prophet, and my father was not a prophet; I was a shepherd. I also took care of sycamore-fig trees.

And Amos answered, and said to Amasias, I was not a prophet, nor the son of a prophet; but I was a herdman, and a gatherer of sycamore fruits.

15 But Yahweh took me away from taking care of my sheep, and he said to me, ‘Go to Israel and prophesy to my people there!’

And the Lord took me from the sheep, and the Lord said to me, Go, and prophesy to my people Israel.

16 You said to me, ‘Do not prophecy saying terrible things will happen to [the people of] Israel; stop saying those things!’

And now hear the word of the Lord: You say, Prophesy not to Israel, and raise not a tumult against the house of Jacob.

17 Therefore listen to what Yahweh says about you: ‘Your wife will become a prostitute in this city, and your sons and daughters will be killed by [your enemies’] swords. Others will measure your land and divide it up [among themselves]; and you yourself will die in a foreign country. And the people of Israel will certainly be forced to leave their country and go (into exile/to live in another country).’”

Therefore thus says the Lord; Your wife shall be a harlot in the city, and your sons and your daughters shall fall by the sword, and your land shall be measured with the line; and you shall die in an unclean land; and Israel shall be led captive out of his land. Thus has the Lord God showed me.